Salem-Teikyo (25-2) played like the top seed early, building a 17-point lead in the first half and holding a 47-37 edge at halftime.

But Shepherd whittled away and took its first lead, 76-75, on a Rashad Crutchfield layup with 4:34 to play.

Shepherd (13-15) took the lead for good on a jumper by Sutherland with 45 seconds left that made the score 82-80.

Shepherd went 8 of 10 from the foul line in the final 30 seconds to seal the win. Duane Harris converted four foul shots in the last 12 seconds, including two for a technical foul assessed against Salem-Teikyo coach Mike Carey.

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Shepherd hit 19 of 21 free throws in the game. Salem-Teikyo was just 8 of 19 from the line.

``When you win as many games as they've won, I think they may have gotten a little nervous at the end,'' said Shepherd coach Denny Alexander.